have any of you heard of the brand clarke? someone on yt made a side note that they are just rebadged craftsmans... any truth to this? if so, are craftsman/clarke good quality welders? they arent as expensive as the typical lincoln.

btw, looking at 220v wire-feed MIG...

oldred

10-19-2005, 11:24 AM

You would be better off to spend a few extra dollars and get a Lincoln, Hobart or Miller any one of which is top notch gear. Those cheapo welders do work ok most of the time but the diffrence in performance and parts/service avaliability is worth far more than the few dollars you will save. A cheap welder can cause you some major headaches while a good one will do the job you expect of it and will last for many years if properly cared for. Do yourself a favor here and don't scrimp on this tool as it is just to important.

Cebby

10-19-2005, 11:40 AM

When you are into 220v MIG territory, I would not even look at anything other than Lincoln or Miller (no experience with Hobart). I have a Millermatic 210 with spoolgun for alum. Without the spoolgun, you can get it from Indiana Oxygen for $1287 + ship. A Millermatic 175 (can be either 110 or 220 I think) is $797 + ship. I found those guys on eBay.

As far as choosing between Lincoln and Miller, pick one that has the closest local dealer for getting bottles refilled, consumables if you are in a pinch, and service. Knock on wood, I've not had any issues with any welders I've owned. (I started out with a Lincoln 135 Plus MIG and now I have a Millermatic 210 MIG and Miller Syncrowave 180SD TIG/stick.)

Canadian Charlie

10-19-2005, 02:44 PM

I've heard of Clarke, they are made in England if I'm correct

http://wwwmachinemart.co.uk

They sell alot of Clarke products

Canadian Charlie

10-19-2005, 02:46 PM

By the way I have a Deca mig welder, a Deca arc welder and a Decca battery charger.

The Deca brand is Italian and I've owned my welders and charger a long time now with no problems. I hear the Deca brand is avalable in Canada

garrett1478

10-20-2005, 01:36 AM

thanks guys, i'll probably try to score a lincoln 175 off ebay, this seems like the best long term choice.

oldred

10-20-2005, 02:20 PM

Garrett, That Lincoln is an excellent choice and Lincoln has been my favorite for over thirty five years but one would have to look awfully hard to find anything bad to say about the Miller and the Hobart Handler series is a really good value for the money also.

Jared

10-20-2005, 02:25 PM

By the way I have a Deca mig welder, a Deca arc welder and a Decca battery charger.

The Deca brand is Italian and I've owned my welders and charger a long time now with no problems. I hear the Deca brand is avalable in Canada

Princess auto sell them here, never tried one tho

Canadian Charlie

10-20-2005, 05:13 PM

Jared I don't live in Canada anymore so Deca is second best

Krooser

11-16-2005, 10:50 PM

Clarke is Made In China...That should tell you of the quality of the machine...

outlawcrewcab

11-17-2005, 11:29 AM

you either are a lincon man or a miller me im a miller nothing wrong with lincoln there just set up a little diffrent. as far as hobart and miller they are the same. hobart is made by miller. miller is a production machine where hobart is a "hobby" machine. As far as drive line there the same the hobarts just have a smalled duty cycle.So a hobart is a great machine and cost less unless you plan on welding Alot then buy a miller or lincoln as i weld for about 4-5 hrs a day with mine

oldred

06-02-2006, 10:43 AM

Sorry to dig up this old post again but I have not been around in a while. I just saw this old urban legend about Miller owning Hobart and had to say something. Miller DOES NOT OWN Hobart! This got started some time back when ITW, who owns Miller, bought Hobart also thus Miller and Hobart are both owned by the same parent company sort of like GM owns Chevy and Pontiac but neither owns the other any more than Chevy owns Pontiac. Because they are owned by the same parent company they do share some common parts and both are excellent machines with the Miller being aimed more at the industrial market while the Hobart is more aimed at the hobbiest and farm type market.

67 canso s/d

02-22-2007, 01:02 AM

By the way I have a Deca mig welder, a Deca arc welder and a Decca battery charger.

The Deca brand is Italian and I've owned my welders and charger a long time now with no problems. I hear the Deca brand is avalable in Canada

Deca welders are avaliable in canada at Princess Auto. I have had no experiance with Deca, other than they are sold at Princess Auto stores in Canada.
Bob.